


Virus HML

by sassay



Category: Final Fantasy VII
Genre: F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-05
Updated: 2015-12-05
Packaged: 2018-05-05 02:17:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 8
Words: 16,068
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5357192
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sassay/pseuds/sassay
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>AU - Holy and Meteor collided. The world has changed and is now a post apocalypse wasteland. The combination of Holy and Meteor hit the tainted Lifestream releasing an unusual strain of virus. In some people the virus can be mutated, changed and adapted to improve the individual. In others it has a fatal effect.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I'm bringing this work over from ffnet. I don't own Final Fantasy VII.

We all thought Holy was going to save us from Meteor. Aeris’ sacrifice should have saved us all. But something went wrong. Holy and Meteor collided and the sky turned purple. The combined Holy and Meteor hybrid collided with the Planet and hit the tainted Lifestream. The shockwave resulting from the collision destroyed buildings and killed millions. Plants disintegrated and the water was infected. We all thought that was bad enough. Then the first group of people got sick. An unusual strain of virus, nicknamed HML spread throughout the lands. Many died. The rate of infection differs in each individual. Some people died within a week of contracting the disease. This is known as the Third Gen. The Second Gen infected did not die, but their skin sloughed off slowly, painfully. A horrid sickly pulsating purple tendril wrapped around the Second Gen infected forearms. This was a mark of the Second Gen infection.  
The First Gen infected were the luckiest of the infected. Their DNA changed the virus, mutating it and adding it to their double helix. This caused mutations in the individuals. Not all First Gen mutations were the same. Some said it was the Planet fighting back against the virus. Some First Gen infected are able to use elemental based attacks and defences. Others obtained animal characteristics, others plant characteristics.

Some people somehow escaped infection, developing immunity to the virus. This however did not render them safe. ShinRa was no more, AVALANCHE was no more. Renegade Factions appeared all over Gaia. The Factions fought amongst themselves to claim more land. There is no law anymore. Scavenging is the only way to survive. The Planet will no longer produce plants. There are more monsters than ever before. Life is dangerous, more dangerous than ever.

I have seen friends and strangers die from Third Gen infection, I have also known many Second Gen infected, some also friends. I personally know what it feels like to be a First Gen. I have watched the world burn, I was involved in AVALANCHE when we were trying to save the world. I wander alone now, having been separated from those I know and love, either through death or through Faction Loyalty. There is no unity or peace between Factions. Once you join, you are part of that territory. Once in a Faction, the only way out is death. Anyone not in your Faction is considered an enemy. I have seen family members kill each other due to being in opposing Factions. Age means nothing, children are not spared. Although, the number of children has dwindled in the 2 years since that day, there are few births. Some people believe that this is the Goddess giving up on her people, wanting to end the human race. Others believe that this is punishment from Jenova.

To me, it doesn’t matter either way. You need to live day to day, scavenging and surviving. Whether it is the Goddess or Jenova or even ourselves. You need to fight to survive.


	2. Isolation

The streets were devoid of people, rubble and sand covered everything. There was a complete absence of sound. No murmuring of voices, no chattering of animals. The area was a ghost town, a forgotten town. Every building was damaged. Taller buildings had partially collapsed. Lower set buildings were mostly intact however were missing glass in all windows. A rusted fence, topped with barbed wire surrounded a group of low set buildings. The remains of what appeared to be a military structure. 

The surrounding area of the lost town was even more desolate. A literal desert, sand dunes slowly shifting as a gentle breeze lazily moved around the area. The purple coloured sun and sky were bitingly harsh on the eyes. A lone figure walked slowly towards the town. The figure was very obviously female. She was wearing black army pants tucked into black combat steel capped boots. She wore a threadbare khaki green singlet, with tarnished metal armour on her forearms and black fingerless gloves. She carried a small canvas backpack and her long black hair was braided and yet still reached down to her lower back. Due to the harsh biting sand that was being whipped around by the breeze the woman also wore tinted goggles. 

As the figure crested the last dune before the town, she surveyed the town layout. While the area looked deserted, the woman had enough experience to know that didn’t necessarily mean that was the truth. She decided to head towards the military structure first, reasoning that there may be ration packs and other supplies still available. She altered her course slightly and kept the same pace she had before. To get to the military structure, she needed to go through part of the town. Therefore she needed to be aware of enemy First Gens, Second Gens and Mutagens. 

The monsters and animals of the pre HML world were affected by the Virus in a different way. The elemental effect of the virus depended on the species of animal. If the animal had certain natural element aspects prior to the virus, their elements changed to a darker aspect. For example, fire changed to dafyre, where the flame burned black and stuck to enemies’ skin like napalm. The skin sloughing characteristics of Second Gen infected also affected the monsters and animals; however it was patchy rather than all consuming. Often the personalities of the monsters and animals changed too. A murderous rage filled the creatures and even the most timid monster would attack without provocation. The creatures of the new world were called Mutagens.

As Tifa, for that is what the woman’s name is, entered the abandoned town she heard a strange skittering noise. Scanning the area, Tifa could not see anything, but was on high alert, ready for an attack. She shook her hands once and clenched her fists, a pale blue mist swirled around each hand and forearm, going across her knuckles and wrapping around her wrist and forearm tapering off at her elbows. Tifa crept along the damaged roads heading towards her goal. As she rounded a corner, she felt a presence and turned quickly to find a Zolokalter skittering down across some rubble from a building heading straight towards her. Two more came skittering from each side of her.  
‘Shit,’ she muttered.  
Tifa threw her arms up, parallel to her body, palms facing the initial Zolokalter, bringing them down in a diagonal motion to her side. An icy barrier formed in a semi circle around her. She then brought her right foot back behind her in a ready stance while at the same time bringing her arms into a crossed position then a made a pushing motion. The ice barrier shattered into needles and flew outwards towards the Zolokalters. The icy needles pierced their bodies but didn’t slow them down. The Zolokalter to her right reached her first, attempting to bite her arm. Tifa turned and kicked connecting with the side of the Zolokalter’s face, a blast of ice covered the impact zone and Tifa turned and hit the same spot on the Zolokalter with the back of her forearm. The Zolokalter flew back with the impact into the side of a building.

The two remaining Zolokalters lunged towards Tifa, but she backflipped out of the way. They collided and staggered slightly off balance, however they composed themselves quickly and skittered towards Tifa again. Tifa landed on a pile of rubble slightly elevated from the Zolokalters and jumped over the pair, grabbing the tail of one of the Zolokalters and sending ice down it, encasing half of the body in ice. The momentum from Tifa’s jump and the brittle iciness of the tail caused it to snap. The Zolokalter screamed in anger and lunged out at the Zolokalter at its side, knocking its legs out from underneath it. Both Zolokalters shrieked and took a few moments to regather themselves. Tifa however had slammed both hands palms down on the road causing the ground underneath the Zolokalters to become slippery. Their legs were unable to gain any friction and they kept slipping over and over again. Tifa stood up, clenching her fists again, a sharp, pointed icicle about a foot long formed in each hand. She threw both at the Mutagen missing its tail piercing through two of their green diamond shaped eyes. The Zolokalter spewed black oozing blood from its wounds and began to perform Toxic Barf in a panic. Fortunately for Tifa, the Zolokalter was facing the other Zolokalter. Unfortunately it did not have any effect on it. Tifa formed another two icicles and threw them at the relatively uninjured Zolokalter, causing it to also spew black oozing blood. Tifa brought her arms out in front of her body, palms facing downwards and made two fists, ice shot out and formed an icy javelin which she immediately threw at the more injured Zolokalter, piercing through its body. It let out a strangled shriek and collapsed, its sticky black blood forming a puddle around it.

Tifa quickly formed another ice javelin and took a running leap, twisting her body in midair to land on the Zolokalter’s back, immediately thrusting the sharp point into the base of the Zolokalter’s head piercing the brain and killing it instantly. Tifa breathed heavily for a few moments before flicking her hands and ‘turning off’ her icy mist. She turned and headed towards the military compound at the same steady pace she initially entered the ghost town with.

It did not take long for Tifa to reach the rusted gate at the entrance of the military compound. A swift kick broke the brittle rusted chain holding the gate closed and Tifa entered the area. A quick scout of the first two buildings yielded nothing in the way of useful items. Both buildings were simply administrative buildings with only shattered computers and toppled filing cabinets and office furniture remaining inside. The third building Tifa encountered had what used to be a card swipe entry. All power to this entry had long since stopped working. Tifa flicked her hands and pressed her palms to the door. Ice swept across the entire metal door turning it white. Once the whole door was covered, Tifa stepped back and kicked hard, the door broke into many fragments giving her access to what seemed to be another administrative building. This building however did not have any windows. She stepped inside and noticed that the emergency lighting on the ceiling was faintly lit.  
‘There must be a generator somewhere in here,’ she mused, ‘but what is so special about this building?’  
Tifa looked carefully around and noticed a flip out computer attached to the back right hand wall. She flipped out the keyboard and the computer lit up asking for a password.  
‘Ok, it’s been a while since I’ve hacked into a computer. Let’s see if I still have the skills.’  
Twenty minutes later the computer made a beeping noise and the text, ‘Password Accepted’ flashed on the screen. Then Tifa heard a screeching and groaning noise and noticed a panel on the floor moving to reveal a metal staircase. She cautiously walked down the short staircase to another metal door, she reached out to the large handle and with a bit of effort was able to turn it and pull open the door.   
There was a long metal hallway with a few glass windows showing different laboratories. As Tifa walked down this hallway, the overhead lights turned on with a loud buzz. A sickly yellow colour bathed the hallway and the air smelt stale. At the end of the hallway there was a door with a hallway leading left and one leading right. Tifa opened the door deciding to go down the hallways after, mentally mapping out where she had been already so she wouldn’t get lost.  
Tifa stepped into the room, there were many large metal pipes running up and down the sides of a catwalk. Tifa leaned over the guardrail slightly but wasn’t able to see anything down below except for some steam or mist. She walked along the catwalk and up some metal stairs to a metal and glass door. Pushing a panel on the left hand side the door slid open with a whooshing noise. This room was a lab or medical room. There was a large side table with chemistry equipment along the left hand side. In the centre of the room was a metal operating table. Along the right hand side there were three metal tubes with an oval glass opening. The glass openings glowed blue. Curiosity pulled Tifa over to the tubes. She glanced inside the first tube and saw nothing. The second tube yielded the same result. The final tube however held something in it. Tifa peered in and gasped in shock, “Zack?!”


	3. Zack

Curiosity pulled Tifa over to the tubes. She glanced inside the first tube and saw nothing. The second tube yielded the same result. The final tube however held something in it. Tifa peered in and gasped in shock, “Zack?!”

Tifa stepped back, her mind reeling.

‘It couldn’t be him. He died, Cloud told me he died.’

She peered into the tube again, ‘But it looks just like him.’ 

The man enclosed in the tube seemed to be floating in a blue, glowing liquid. His eyes were closed and his face was relaxed. There was a clear scuba mouthpiece attached to two clear breathing tubs in his mouth, obviously assisting him to breath in the liquid. His black spiky hair floated gently in the liquid. He was clad in a pair of grey boxer pants and Tifa could see different tubes and wires running from different parts of his body.

Tifa ran her eyes over the tube, looking for any sort of identification or information to confirm the identity of the man inside. There was a small flip out computer attached to the left hand side. Tifa quickly opened it and groaned when she saw another request for a password.

This computer had a much higher security system, just as Tifa was contemplating smashing open the tube, the computer beeped and again the text ‘Password Accepted’ flashed across the screen.

Tifa read the few options given to her, ‘Specimen Information, Experimental Procedures Log, Open Stasis Tube and Terminate Specimen.’ She decided to start with the first option. Pressing enter, the computer whirred and text appeared on the screen.

Specimen Information

Name – Zack Fair  
Project Identification – 108-Z  
Sex – Male  
Mako Exposure Level – SOLDIER  
N-Ex Concentration – 121 ed

General Information – The specimen (108-Z) is a former First Class SOLDIER. Recaptured after trying to escape with another specimen (111-C). 108-Z sustained many injuries during his futile attempt to escape and was near death when recaptured. He was placed in a Rejuvenation Chamber for 3 months to repair the damage before we were able to restart experiments.

108-Z was present at the Nibelheim incident (refer to File N-645 Nibelheim Exposure) and while does not have the same concentration of N-Ex levels as 111-C does have an adequate concentration level for the experiments we are conducting.

IMPORTANT – 108-Z must be dosed with high levels of sedatives when brought out the Stasis Tube for experiments. We have had three incidents where he was not dosed sufficiently and has attempted another escape. In each incident laboratory technicians were injured and the specimen had to be severely injured into submission. Each of these incidents has resulted in 108-Z needing to spend 2 weeks in the Rejuvenation Chamber. Professor Hojo is not happy with the delays these incidents cause and as such anyone disobeying this directive will be terminated.

‘Oh Zack,’ Tifa thought sadly. She exited out of the Information screen and debated silently whether to read the Experiment Log first or to see if she could release him from the tube. Her compassion overruled her curiosity, as she remembered just how horrible Professor Hojo could be with experiments and also realised that Zack had probably been in the tube since before the whole mess with Meteor. That meant he had not been out for at least 2 years. Her mind made up, Tifa scrolled to the Open Stasis Tube option and pressed Enter. A text box popped up stating, ‘Ensure high level sedatives are ready to be administered within 5 minutes of exiting the tube.’ Tifa quickly pressed the Enter button again and stepped in front of the tube.

Zack’s body jolted slightly and the black tubes attached to his body retreated into panels in the walls of the tube. There was a whooshing noise and the front panel of the tube opened slowly from the bottom up. The blue glowing liquid started to drain out of the tube into a covered grate in front. The force of the liquid managing to soak Tifa’s boots and legs. The scuba mask and breathing tubes retreated up into a panel on the top of the tube and the panel opened fully. Zack fell forward heavily into Tifa unable to hold himself up. Tifa quickly pulled Zack out and with a slight effort managed to lay him down on the ground in front of the tube.

“Zack? Come on Zack. Time to wake up now.”

Tifa felt for a pulse and was relieved to find it throbbing strongly beneath his skin. She crouched over him and placed her head on his chest to listen for breathing. Again she was relieved to hear him breathing slowly. She pulled back and knelt beside him, checking for any obvious injuries but only saw small bruises and cuts from where the black tubes were attached. She then realised that both of them were soaked and looked around to see if there were any towels or spare clothing to dry them both. As she started to stand up, a hand grabbed her forearm forcefully. Tifa turned back to see Zack glaring at her through half lidded eyes.

‘No drugs this time?’ he spoke in a gravelly voice due to disuse, ‘Your mistake.’

With that he flung her over the top of him. She tucked and rolled, landing crouched only a few meters away. He attempted to get up quickly but Tifa launched herself at him, tackling him to the ground and pinning his legs.  
“Zack! Stop! You’re safe now. It’s Tifa Lockhart from Nibelheim. Remember?”

Zack struggled and tried to lash out at her, but Tifa quickly grabbed his arms and pinned them down.

“Zack, stop it. I’m not going to hurt you. I’m not from ShinRa. I was the Mountain Guide from Nibelheim. Please remember Zack!”

Zack blinked a few times, registering his name being used instead of a specimen number. He stopped struggling, trying to regain focus.

“Okay. I’m going to let you go now and hop off. Just stay calm.” Tifa slowly let go of Zack’s arms and resumed her kneeling position next to him. Zack pushed himself up into a sitting position and looked at her.

“Tifa? But I thought you died. Sephiroth cut you pretty bad,” he said quietly, still trying to decide whether he had finally snapped after being in this lab for too long.

“Not quite. Cloud got me out,” Tifa responded.

“Cloud! Did he get away? Tifa, please tell me he got away,” Zack pleaded grabbing her arm again.

“He did.”

Zack was visibly relieved at this piece of information and let go of Tifa’s arm. He studied her for a moment.

“Tifa?” he paused, “How long has it been? No offence, but you look a lot older than when I saw you in Nibelheim.”

Tifa sighed. “Zack…There’s really no easy way to say it. But Nibelheim happened 9 years ago.”

“Nine years since Nibelheim. So I’ve been here for 4 years!” Zack exclaimed shaking his head in disbelief looking down.

Tifa shifted slightly and became aware of her wet clothing and Zack’s lack of clothing.

“Zack, a lot of stuff has happened. The world is very different now. It’s a really long story and I’ll tell it to you but we need some dry clothes and food. I figured there would be ration packs somewhere in this building, which is why I was scavenging here in the first place.”

“Scavenging?” Zack whipped his head up to look at Tifa again.

“As I said, the world is very different now. It’s best I tell you in chronological order, rather than in bits and pieces. Come on, let’s go.” Tifa stood up and offered her hand to help Zack up.  
Zack looked from her outstretched hand to her face. She gave a small smile, which he returned and took the offered hand.

“Will you be able to walk?” Tifa asked as she pulled Zack up.

“Yeah. The stasis tube stops any deterioration of my muscles. That’s usually why they would drug me whenever I was removed. Which reminds me…how did you get so strong Teef? Usually I had to be injured quite severely before anyone could overpower me.”

Tifa shrugged, “I dunno. I did catch you off guard.”

Zack studied her for a moment before shrugging himself. 

“Anyway… Now that you’ve mentioned it, I wouldn’t mind getting into some clean clothes. I wonder if there is a locker room somewhere?” he mused.

“Perhaps, I’ve not had a chance to explore anything other than this room, and I went straight to the stasis tubes. Upstairs is just an administrative area. But there were two other corridors and it looks like there is another door over there,” Tifa pointed to the back of the room.

“Guess we should look in there first then. I hope I can find a weapon somewhere as well,” Zack stated.

Tifa turned to him, “Don’t worry Zack. I’ll protect you if there’s any Mutagens.”

With that she picked up her backpack from next to the stasis tube, where she had dropped it while hacking into the terminal and walked towards the door at the back of the room.

“I don’t doubt that Tifa,” Zack chuckled, “Wait! What are Mutagens?”


	4. Explanations

Tifa turned to him, “Don’t worry Zack. I’ll protect you if there’s any Mutagens.”

With that she picked up her backpack from next to the stasis tube, where she had dropped it while hacking into the terminal and walked towards the door at the back of the room.

“I don’t doubt that Tifa,” Zack chuckled, “Wait! What are Mutagens?”

Tifa and Zack were luckily rewarded with a locker room when they opened the door at the back of the lab. Opening the lockers they managed to find a set of baby blue scrubs for each of them and a pair of rubber soled sneakers for Zack along with two threadbare towels.

“This’ll have to do for now, I guess,” said Tifa slowly, “We should find some armour and boots in some of the other buildings. Military bases usually make for good scavenging grounds.”

Zack regarded the young woman standing in front of him, handing over a set of scrubs. He could see the faint white lines of scars covering her biceps and noted a few on her face. There was a more noticeable scar cutting her left eyebrow, it didn’t detract from the obvious beauty she held. She was slim but Zack could see the definition of muscle in her arms and through the damp, clinging material of her shirt. Her eyes were what struck him the most though. Her eyes told stories of a woman who had seen too much and was forced to grow up before her time.

While Zack was completing a study of Tifa, Tifa was conducting her own study of Zack. Physically he looked the same as he did when she first met him at Nibelheim. His torso was littered with scars, long, thin lines along with starburst shaped ones. Her eyes travelled to his face and over his X-shaped scar up to his iconic sky blue Mako eyes. His eyes reflected her own in that they told of a young man who had seen way too much in his short life. There was a hint of mischievousness though which amazed Tifa when she thought of how much he had gone through.

Zack smirked when he realised that she had been studying him as much as he had been studying her.

“Like what you see?” he teased.

Tifa snorted before growing serious.

“Zack,” she started, “You know when I saw you last…in the Reactor?”

“Yeah,” he replied.

“I didn’t mean it when I said I hated you,” she whispered.

“It’s okay Tifa. You were angry and upset and in pain. I understand.”

She nodded.

“Well,” he said, scratching the back of his head in an eerily familiar gesture, “We’d best get changed as you said you had a long story to tell me.”

She nodded again.

“You can go in there first,” she said gesturing towards the shower stall attached to the locker room, “But I warn you not to drink any of the water from the tap. You have to boil it first and it’s also unlikely that there will be any hot water. Although… there is electricity in this bunker so you might get lucky.”

Zack shot her a questioning look and was about to open his mouth to protest going first when Tifa cut him off.

“It’s starting to get cold in here and I don’t feel the cold like you would. I know the SOLDIER treatments tend to keep your body warmer than usual but night is falling and the temperature out here tends to drop very quickly. Besides I need to set up an alert system at the door. We are going to need to stay here overnight and I know you need an explanation about what’s happened since you were put in here.”

Zack simply nodded and made his way into the shower stall. Tifa watched his retreating back for a few moments before heading out to the long hallway and stopping at the large metal door. She had left it open when she first entered in case she needed to make a quick escape, a few seconds could mean the difference between life and death these days. She pushed the door shut and using a few items in her backpack set up a crude alarm system consisting of a tripwire and rusty tin cans, bolts and other miscellaneous metal items. The alarm was meant only to alert her in case of another person or creature entering the area. It didn’t need to be sophisticated, just loud.

Tifa looked over her work and satisfied made her way back to the locker room.

In the shower stall, Zack had discovered that Tifa was correct in assuming there was no hot water. As he stood under the frigid stream of water, he mulled things over in his head.

‘Four years! Those bastards stole another four years away from me! At least Tifa said Cloud had survived. Although I don’t understand why she is on her own. I was sure Cloud had a thing for her and from her queries about him in Nibelheim I was sure she had feelings for him as well.’

Zack shook his head, ‘Well I guess Tifa will explain everything to me. I can see that she is not the same young girl I met in Nibelheim. Although loosing your father and hometown to that psychopath Sephiroth would have changed her, I still think there is more to it. She mentioned that the world had changed, I wonder just how much I have missed.’

“Zack?” called Tifa tentatively startling Zack out of his thoughts. He hadn’t even heard her return, she was like a ninja.

“Yeah?” he called back.

“I was just checking that you were alright.”

“Yes, I’m fine. I’m just getting out now.” 

Zack turned off the water and dried himself off with the threadbare towel quickly. He pulled the starchy scrubs on and pulled a face.

‘I hope Tifa is right about finding some better clothes and some armour.’

He exited the shower stall and saw Tifa sitting on a bench in the Locker Room removing her boots and socks. She looked up straight away.

“I won’t be long. I haven’t had a chance to explore any other rooms in here yet so I don’t know what they are like. Are you comfortable staying in here tonight or will we check for another room? I’m sure there aren’t any good memories in this room.”

Zack was stunned at the depth of caring this woman possessed. The two of them had only known each other for a few days in Nibelheim. He guessed that Cloud had spoken about him to her. He realised that she was looking expectantly at him, waiting for an answer.

“Uh, if we have a choice, I’d prefer not to be in here. But didn’t you set up some alarm system?” he queried, scratching the back of his head nervously.

“It’s ok, it’s at the main entrance. Give me a few minutes and we will look for a different location.” Tifa gave him a small smile as she slipped past him into the shower stall.

Zack sat down on the bench and pulled on the rubber soled shoes they had found. They were a little tight, but would be enough for now. Zack got lost in his thoughts again.

‘I wonder how Aeris is going? She’s probably moved on by now. Maybe she even has a child?’

Zack sighed as memories of him and Aeris rolled through his mind.

True to her word Tifa took a very quick shower. It wasn’t often that you found a working shower nowadays; personal hygiene routines such as baths tended to be fairly infrequent and usually consisted of quick bathes in rivers and ponds. Or damp rags and a bucket of water.

She dried off and quickly got dressed back in her usual clothes as they had already dried and walked back into the locker room. She sat down next to Zack startling him out of his reminiscing.

“Ready to go?” Tifa queried pulling her boots back on.

“Sure,” Zack replied standing up. Tifa finished lacing up her boots and stood up as well, picking up her trusty backpack. The both walked back through the lab and stepped out into the corridor.

“Left or right?” asked Tifa

“Let’s go left,” answered Zack.

The pair travelled down the hallway in silence, the only sound being the buzzing of the overhead lights. It was only a short walk before they saw a door on the left hand side and also on the right hand side of the corridor.

Tifa opened the left hand side door, “I think that door will be another lab, considering the location and what I saw through the windows when I came in. But you can open it if you like.”

Zack shrugged, “I trust your judgement.”

Tifa grinned and pushed the door open, “Jackpot!”

The room was a canteen with four booths, a serving bar and a small kitchen area. Tifa walked into the kitchen area and opened up the cupboards and pantry letting out a small whoop when she found some dry packet noodles.

Zack was leaning against the doorframe and chuckled at the happy sound Tifa made, she turned and gave him a tentative smile.

“I’m guessing you are hungry?” she asked searching for two bowls and also finding an electric kettle in her rummaging.

Zack went to answer when his stomach growled, “I guess so,” he said sheepishly. Tifa just shook her head at him and busied herself making up the dry noodles. In a short time, the duo had finished their meals.

“So I guess I should start with what happened to me after Nibelheim,” Tifa started quietly.

Zack focused his attention on the brunette, “Please?”

Tifa quickly glossed over her healing from the near fatal wounding and explained how she met Barett and joined AVALANCHE.

“You were a terrorist and a barmaid in the Sector 7 Slums?” Zack asked incredulously.

Tifa nodded and went on to talk about how she found Cloud and convinced him to join them and how he had fallen during their second mission.

“He ended up falling through the roof of a church and met a girl named Aeris.”

Zack’s eyebrows shot up, “Aeris Gainsborough?”

Tifa nodded, “Yeah, she ended up joining us on our mission, after we rescued her from ShinRa. She and Cloud grew close before…” Tifa trailed off, “but I’m getting a bit ahead of myself there.”

“I fell through that roof too. Aeris and I were seeing each other before the Nibelheim Incident.”

This time it was Tifa’s eyebrows that shot up and her eyes were filled with pain, “Oh Zack, I’m so sorry.”

“I’ve been gone a while Tifa. It doesn’t surprise me that she moved on. She probably thought I was dead,” said Zack, misinterpreting her comment.

“No Zack. I…It’s hard for me to tell you this but…Aeris, she was killed on our mission.”

“She’s dead?”

“I’m so sorry Zack.”

Zack quickly blinked away tears that were threatening to fall, “Was it…I mean…Did she suffer?”

“No, it was very quick,” said Tifa softly.

“How?” 

“Sephiroth.”

“What? But he’s dead.”

“He is now. We killed him, AVALANCHE that is. Somehow he survived Nibelheim.”

Zack just shook his head.

“Do you want me to stop Zack? There is still a lot to go over.”

“No…no. I need to hear it all.”

Tifa continued with her story, speaking about all the members of their ragtag group and the trials and tribulations they faced together culminating with the final fight against Sephiroth at Northern Crater.

She was explaining how the group managed to escape the collapsing crater on the Highwind when Zack interrupted.

“This Holy… That Aeris sacrificed herself for? It stopped Meteor?”

“Um, not exactly.”

 

FLASHBACK

Tifa’s mouth felt dry as she stared in disbelief from her position on the deck of the Highwind. Holy was meant to save them, not amplify the destructive power of Meteor. Her teammates all around her seemed to be sharing the same thought.

‘Why isn’t it working?’

Cloud was standing to the right of her, she could feel his body heat as his arm bumped hers. She clutched at his hand, trying to draw comfort from his solid figure. He wrapped his fingers around her hand and squeezed it slightly.

A glimmer of light caught Tifa’s eye, “What’s that?”

Cloud turned, “Lifestream.”

Then they saw the green tendrils of the Lifestream swirling towards the merging Holy and Meteor.

“It doesn’t look right,” Nanaki murmured.

Everyone’s eyes widened as they realised he was right. The green tendrils were edged with a dark shimmering purple that surged and faded.

“That ain’t looking good,” muttered Barett.

The Lifestream hit the Holy Meteor combination and there was a blinding flash of light. Everyone on the Highwind deck squinted and threw up an arm to protect their eyes. Then everything went dark for a moment before a brilliant purple shockwave appeared and flew outwards. The windows of all the buildings surrounding Midgar shattered outwards. Buildings collapsed and roads shifted.

“Brace yourselves!” yelled Cid as the shockwave approached the Highwind. Everyone grabbed onto the closest thing to them as the rippling shockwave hit the Highwind. The airship bucked and tilted, alarms started to sound and all the instruments started to flash and beep. The glass window of the deck in front of Cloud and Tifa shattered, causing many tiny cuts on the pair’s exposed skin. A strong wind rushed into the deck whipping everyone’s clothes about.

Nanaki slid, scrabbling for a grip and slammed into the side of the ship, next to where Vincent was holding onto a guardrail and letting out a yelp of pain. Vincent slammed his metal hand into the floor of the ship, tearing a handhold and wrapped his other arm around Nanaki to prevent him from being thrown again. Yuffie let out a shriek as she started to loose her grip and was about to follow Nanaki but Cid grabbed hold of her forearm and pulling her up where she regained her hold, he continued to hold onto her tightly. She smiled in gratitude which he returned. Cait Sith and his Moogle rolled along the tilted deck, slamming into a jutting corner of some flight instruments which pierced the Moogle.

“We’re going down,” shouted Cid, as the Highwind started to loose altitude. There was a hard jolt and the Highwind bounced and slid as it collided with the ground, cutting a giant path into the earth. There was a screeching sound of metal and all the members of AVALANCHE were thrown about like ragdolls but somehow managing not to be flung out through the broken window. The Highwind finally came to a stop after what felt like hours to the group but in reality would have been less than a minute. 

“Is everyone okay?” called Cloud.

He was answered with moans and murmurs. The Highwind had come to a stop on a slight angle with the nose of the airship digging into the ground. There were damaged wires sparking from different panels around the deck. The floor was littered with bits of broken glass and other miscellaneous loose items. The light streaming in from outside seemed strange.

Tifa pushed herself up with a groan, her skin was stinging from the little cuts scattered over her skin. She felt bruised all over, especially on her ribs where she had collided with a guardrail. Cloud was attempting to stand not far from where was kneeling, his face was also peppered with cuts, Tifa looked around checking on each member of their group. Nanaki and Vincent were standing up and making their way over to Cait Sith. Nanaki was limping slightly but seemed to be ok. She couldn’t tell if Vincent was injured or not due to his cloak covering his face. Yuffie was sitting down next to Cid looking quite pale except for an ugly looking bruise on her cheek. Cid had lost his goggles and had a large gash down his cheek. That just left Barett. Tifa looked over to where she had last seen him and screamed. Barett had been holding onto one of three pipes towards the rear of the deck, sometime during the crash, one of the pipes had been damaged resulting in a large sharp piece of metal jutting out and Barett had unfortunately been impaled through the chest. His arms were hanging at his sides and his head was slumped towards his chest. 

“No, no, no….Barret!!” Tifa yelled as she raced over to him, ignoring a sharp pain in her thigh. Everyone stood frozen in shock. Tifa put her hands on either side of his face, sobbing and begging him to open his eyes.

“Please Barett. Please look at me,” Tifa let go of his face and started to frantically grab at his vest, “Barett, you can’t do this to me. Don’t leave me as well!”

Cid was the first one to come out of his stupor and moved over to behind Tifa gently trying to pull her away.

“Tifa, he’s gone,” Cid said quietly.

“No! No, he’s not!” Tifa tried to pull away from Cid, but he tightened his grip. She turned and buried her face into his chest sobbing violently. Cid gently led her away. Vincent had managed to open the door to the outside of the ship so they didn’t need to climb out through the broken window. The group silently filed out of the door, Cait Sith sat on Nanaki’s back as the damage to his Moogle was too great. Yuffie had tears running down her face while the men in the group looked distraught and in shock. Once outside of the ship, Tifa let herself collapse onto her knees pulling Cid down with her. Yuffie sat down in front of Tifa and enveloped her in a hug. The group grieved in silence for their fallen comrade, for a few minutes the only sound from the group came from Tifa and Yuffie sobbing. 

“We need to get moving. People will be needing assistance,” Vincent was the first to break the silence with his smooth baritone voice.

Tifa pulled back from Yuffie and wiped her eyes. She knew she couldn’t afford to breakdown like this, not now. She set her jaw and stood up, helping Yuffie as she did so. 

The Highwind had crashed into a slight hill and as the group made their way around to face Midgar, they were greeted with a horrifying sight. There were black swirling clouds in the sky, and the sky was no longer a beautiful blue but was now a disturbing purple. Even the once golden sun was purple. 

The once proud city of Midgar was no longer. Even from the long distance, every member of the group could see the astronomical damage the combined forces of Holy, Meteor and the Lifestream had caused. There were numerous fires and collapsed buildings.

The group grimly exchanged glances. The world as they knew it, no longer existed. 

END FLASHBACK


	5. Triad Judgement

The once proud city of Midgar was no longer. Even from the long distance, every member of the group could see the astronomical damage the combined forces of Holy, Meteor and the Lifestream had caused. There were numerous fires and collapsed buildings.

The group grimly exchanged glances. The world as they knew it, no longer existed. 

END FLASHBACK

“That day is now known as Triad Judgement. We made our way into the ruins of Midgar, initially to lend a hand and help where we could. We also wanted to find Elmyra and Marlene,” Tifa said, absentmindedly playing with a napkin she found and staring at a point over Zack’s shoulder.

“I’m sorry about your friend Tifa.”

Tifa started and turned her gaze to look at Zack again, “Thanks. Unfortunately he wasn’t the first or the last of our group to die.”

Zack thought for a moment, “Was the Elmyra you mentioned Aeris’ mother?”

Tifa nodded, “And Marlene was Barett’s adopted daughter.”

“Did you find them?” Zack prompted.

Taking a deep breath Tifa shook her head, “There were no survivors in Midgar. The initial shockwave killed them all. In some ways, they were the lucky ones.”

“How so?”

Tifa opened her mouth to answer when they heard a loud clattering noise. Both of them jumped up and ran to the door. 

“What’s your hand to hand combat like?” Tifa asked.

“I’m ex-SOLDIER. I prefer to fight with a sword but I can hold my own.”

“Right, well…Be prepared. If it’s a Mutagen, it’ll attack no matter what,” Tifa grasped the handle on the door.

“Again, what is a Mutagen?”

“I’ll explain after,” Tifa said hurriedly.

She pulled open the door and flicked her wrists, starting up the white mist around her wrists and knuckles. Zack looked at her arms confused. Tifa didn’t notice as she peered around into the corridor. She saw the nose of a Guard Hound and pulled back quickly, her back against the open door.

“Ok, it’s a Mutagen. Let’s hope it’s only one.”

Tifa pushed off the door, turning in a semi-circle into the corridor, immediately falling into a crouched position and slamming her hands palms down on to the metal floor sending a racing path of ice swirling along the metal floor and partway up the walls.

The Guard Hound had spotted Tifa as soon as she entered the corridor and was running towards her when it met the icy path. Its paws lost friction and it slipped and skidded towards Tifa. Tifa quickly formed two icy spikes in her hands and prepared herself. Tifa jumped ready to stab the Guard Hound in the back of the neck, but the confined area of the corridor threw her calculations off and she only managed to cut the creature along its back, landing awkwardly on the icy path she had created. She looked up to see the Guard Hound had regathered itself and was no longer on the slippery ice. It was now facing her, readying itself to attack, when suddenly Zack’s two feet crunched into its side as he swung himself out of the room, holding onto the top of the doorframe. The Guard Hound yelped and crashed into the opposite wall with a sickening crack. Tifa got up and ran over to the unconscious creature and stabbed it at the base of its head, effectively severing its spinal cord. 

Zack dropped himself to the floor and came over to examine the creature. He noticed it had missing patches of skin all over its body, down to the muscle in some areas. He raised an eyebrow at Tifa questionably. 

Tifa flicked her hands turning off her ice elemental and turned to him, “Let me reset the alarm system and I’ll explain.”

Tifa didn’t wait for a response and hurried down the corridor. Zack watched her disappear around the corner and turned his attention to the dead Guard Hound.

“What the hell is going on here?” he questioned under his breath.

Tifa quickly made her way back, sliding on the icy path almost like she was skating.

“What sort of material was that Tifa? I’ve never seen Ice Materia work like that before,” Zack asked as the pair returned to the booth they had been sitting in.

“It’s not Materia. Materia doesn’t work anymore.”

“Wait…what? What do you mean it,” Zack started to say but Tifa cut him off.

“Wait, I’ll explain. After Triad Judgement, the world went downhill. We are essentially living in a wasteland. Hence the need to scavenge and the lack of amenities and clean water. We thought that Triad Judgement was bad enough but about 6 months on a guy in what used to be Kalm got sick, fatally sick. Somehow the combination of Holy, Meteor and tainted Lifestream caused a virus to be released. Within a year of that first Fatality the virus had spread over the whole continent. We don’t even know how it is transmitted. All we know is it’s fast. The virus is known as HML. However HML doesn’t just kill people. It affects everyone differently. There are three types that affect people, First Gen, Second Gen and Third Gen. Mutagens refer to all monsters and animals affected by HML. As you saw it makes their skin slough off in patches. It also makes them really aggressive; all Mutagens will attack, even if they used to be passive before Triad Judgement.  
In humans as I said there are three outcomes. Third Gen is the fatal infection. Second Gen infected end up without skin all over their bodies and First Gen infected, well their bodies adapt the virus to their DNA. They end up being able to use elemental…magic for the lack of a better word without Materia. I’m an Ice First Gen which is what you saw me use out there against the Guard Hound Mutagen.”

Zack’s jaw had dropped during this explanation and he was speechless for a moment.

“A virus? And what, it’s just luck of the draw how you’ll be affected?”

“Yes. There isn’t all that much information on the virus in the way of why people get infected in the way they do. We all know the symptoms though. I’m not aware of anyone who isn’t infected in someway anymore. There might be some in certain isolated areas but we really don’t know. The only form of communication is by messengers on foot and well, certain Factions don’t allow travellers in their territories.”

“Factions?” Zack’s mind was reeling.

“This is a lot of information to take in Zack. Are you sure you want to hear it now?” Tifa asked gently.

“I…Yes, I don’t think I could sleep at the moment. Although if you need to rest Tifa we can stop,” Zack realised that Tifa might be exhausted.

Tifa shook her head, “I don’t sleep much anymore. No one does. At least not First Gens anyway. I can last on a few hours sleep for a couple of days. It’s just safer to stay put at night…”

Zack thought rapidly for a few moments, “Tifa, is the reason you are on your own at the moment…I mean, did… Was Cloud infected? I just always assumed that the two of you would have stuck together.”

Tifa swallowed audibly, “Cloud is a First Gen like me. A Poison First Gen. But…He made it clear where his loyalties lay and they weren’t with me.”

Zack tilted his head in confusion.

Tifa sighed, “Cloud changed when he got infected. Not just the physical changes that we all got, but mentally. When he came out of the ‘Like Death’ stage of the virus, he was quiet and subdued. Some people were like that though, just from the shock of the virus. But then he started snapping over the smallest things, it seemed like he was constantly simmering with anger just below the surface. We were staying in Kalm at the time, helping out where we could. He kept disappearing though, no one could find him. He’d come back in a good mood but would quickly revert back to his sulking. There was word that a Faction called the ‘Remnants’ was gaining followers and were planning on taking Kalm as part of their territory. The Remnants were known to be a violent group who took territories by force and anyone who opposed them were killed. The Remnants have a caste system. There are the Leaders, of which there are four. Then there are the Generals who command their fleet of Fighters and then there are the Slaves. The Leaders and Generals keep in charge by ruling with fear. Punishments are fierce and brutal. Cloud came to me one day after one of his disappearances.”

FLASHBACK

Tifa was crouched down bandaging up a young man’s arm. The man had fallen while trying to scavenge a partially collapsed building for supplies and had caught his arm on a piece of concrete. He was lucky not to need stitches. Tifa blew her fringe out of her eyes as she finished tying the bandage. They had all taken Materia for granted and now that it had stopped working, curing people was much harder. Basic infections and loss of blood were the main reasons people died, behind the Third Gen infections that is. Suicide was another main reason for death, many people couldn’t handle loosing family and friends, or they couldn’t handle being a Second Gen infected. 

Tifa pushed her hair out of her face and smiled at the young man, “There you go. Be careful now.”

“Thank you,” he replied as he stood up and left the makeshift hospital tent area. 

Tifa looked around. There hadn’t been too many Third Gen infected brought in today. Most people now, just stayed where they were when they realised they were sick. Everyone knew there was neither cure nor any way to be relieved from the horrible and often painful symptoms. A shadow fell across Tifa pulling her from her musing, she looked up to see the blue eyes of the man she had once thought she loved. His behaviour now was so erratic that she wasn’t sure if she could still love him. She knew she cared deeply for him and they had been through a lot together so they had a strong bond but she admitted to herself, and only to herself, that he scared her at times.

“Can I talk to you?” Cloud asked, “In private, please?”

Tifa’s heart swelled momentarily, maybe he was coming around, and perhaps the old Cloud was coming back to her. She nodded and took the hand he had extended to her. On her feet she brushed herself off and they walked out of the tent together. They didn’t speak until they had reached their destination on the outskirts of the city. Tifa snuck glances at Cloud but he didn’t seem to notice. She knew where they were going, a fallen dead tree at the edge of town. They often went there to chat without having to worry about being overheard.

They reached their destination in a couple of minutes and Tifa took a seat on the blackened log, leaning back slightly on her hands and looking at Cloud expectantly.  
Cloud stood silent in front of her for a few moments, one arm across his lower chest, the other hand tapping his lips. He seemed to be deciding how best to start this conversation.

Deciding that straight to the point was the best way to go, Cloud spoke, “You know how I’ve been going off at all different times.”

Tifa raised an eyebrow, wondering where this was leading and nodded slowly.

“I’ve been meeting with the Remnant Leaders,”

“What?” Tifa interrupted.

“They contacted me first and wanted to meet with me,” continued Cloud looking up at the purple sky.

“Cloud, they aren’t to be trusted,” Tifa said warningly.

“They asked me to join as a Leader, Tifa,” Cloud looked back at her and moved closer.

“You better have told them no.”

“I only accepted with one condition, Tifa, that you could come with me,” Cloud grasped Tifa’s hand, “They said you could be my concubine. You’d be safe, we’d be away from all this and we’d be together.” Cloud flung his arm out to indicate the destroyed area around them.

Tifa was speechless.

“We’d have to follow their ideals of course, but we’ve fought against and killed people before.”

Tifa snatched her hand away, “Are you crazy? I’m not going to be anyone’s concubine! And I refuse to join with the Remnants. They make people Slaves, Cloud! They kill indiscriminately. They only think of themselves when there are so many people who are suffering.” 

Tifa had gotten to her feet now and was standing in front of Cloud.

“I can’t believe you would even consider joining with them!” she yelled.

Cloud grabbed her wrist and squeezed hard, making Tifa gasp with pain. He pulled her in close and spoke in a low, steely voice that sent shivers down her spine.

“They call me Brother Tifa. We are family and it is a great honour to be considered part of the Remnant family. An honour that would have been extended to you.”

Tifa wrenched her arm away and pushed Cloud back.

“What happened to you Cloud? Where has my friend and comrade gone? You promised you would come and save me if I was ever in a bind,” Tifa’s lip trembled and bowed her head.

“I just tried to save you and you turned the opportunity down. But I will give you a chance to escape. Consider it a final favour from a friend. I will be joining the Remnants and we will be taking Kalm. Next time we meet I won’t be so accommodating.”

With that Cloud walked past her back into Kalm slamming his shoulder into her and making her stumble as he did so. Tifa clenched her fists.

“I won’t hold back next time we meet Strife,” she ground out without looking back at him.

Cloud stopped. The purple sun was setting and a warm evening breeze blew past the pair, almost playfully ruffling their hair.

“I look forward to it, Lockhart.”

END FLASHBACK

“The next day, General Kang of the Remnants brought his Blue Fighter Squad to Kalm. Most surrendered instantly. I helped a group of five people escape to a Neutral town.”

Tifa slammed her fist down on the table, “Five people out of a whole city. I haven’t seen Cloud since that day.”

Zack was shocked. He would have never have thought Cloud to be capable of such cruelty. Tifa was looking down at her hands on the table and Zack reached across to place his own hands on top of hers.

Tifa looked up startled at the first gentle human contact she had received in a long time.

“I’m sor-“ Zack was cut off.

“You don’t need to apologise Zack. It wasn’t your fault. A lot of things happened to Cloud,” she shrugged, “Well to all of us. Maybe it was a combination of those things and the virus, or maybe it was always in him just under the surface. He was no longer the little boy I remembered though. My…Our friend Cloud as we knew him is dead. Remnant Leader Cloud is not our friend. He is ruthless and would not hesitate to kill anyone who is against him.


	6. Outside

“You don’t need to apologise Zack. It wasn’t your fault. A lot of things happened to Cloud,” she shrugged, “Well to all of us. Maybe it was a combination of those things and the virus, or maybe it was always in him just under the surface. He was no longer the little boy I remembered though. My…Our friend Cloud as we knew him is dead. Remnant Leader Cloud is not our friend. He is ruthless and would not hesitate to kill anyone who is against him.”

Tifa’s words reverberated through Zack’s mind. They sounded so final, so resigned. As though there was no way to bring back the Cloud they both knew. Maybe there wasn’t.

Tifa seemed to be reading Zack’s mind, “Zack, I’ve tried to think of many reasons as to why Cloud acted the way he did and the way he does act now. I can’t think of any. While I haven’t seen him since that day, I’ve seen the aftermath of his destructive behaviour. Trust me, there is no more Cloud, there is only RL Strife.”

Zack withdrew his hands from Tifa and sighed, “It’s just hard to think of him like that.”

“I know, but you will see Zack.”

The pair fell silent for a few moments.

“Are you sure you don’t want to sleep for a few hours?” Tifa asked.

Zack gave her a grin, “I’ve been asleep in that tube for long enough I think.”

“Let’s go get some supplies then and we can start heading back to Sanctuary,” Tifa said as she stood up.

“Sanctuary?” asked Zack as he also stood up.

“Yes Sanctuary. It’s where Rocket Town used to be, but extended out further. It’s Neutral Resistance’s Headquarters.” Tifa answered exiting the canteen room.

The pair passed the Guard Hound’s body and Zack noticed that the icy path Tifa had created was slowly melting away, leaving small puddles of water. He stepped gingerly, not wanting to slip over.

“The world really has changed a lot hasn’t it Tifa?” Zack was watching where he walked.

Tifa looked over her shoulder and gave a sad smile, “Yeah, it has Zack.”

The pair made their way to the entrance where Tifa crouched to disarm her trap.

“Is Neutral Resistance your Faction?”

Tifa finished disassembling her trap, placing the supplies into her backpack and looked up at Zack.

“Yes, but we are not like the other Factions,” she stood up and grasped the door handle.

“How so?”

“We don’t fight for more territory, we just defend our areas. We don’t torture people. We assist all refugees including defectors from other Factions. Everyone is treated the same,” Tifa finished.

Zack nodded.

“Ready to go?”

“Ready as I’ll ever be,” said Zack.

Tifa pulled open the door and the two made their way up the stairs to the administration building. There were dust motes dancing in the pale early morning light. Although Tifa had mentioned the sky and sun were purple, it still shocked him to see the purple light streaming in. 

“Oh, wait,” Tifa rummaged through her bag quickly pulling out her tinted goggles, “Here.” 

She passed him the goggles and he looked at them curiously for a moment before looking at her.

“The sun is quite bright and you’ve been down in those labs for a long time. Your eyes will be sensitive to the light.”

“Oh. But what about you?”

Tifa shrugged her backpack on, “I only picked those up on my last scavenging mission. Plus I wore them more for the sand than the light. I think I’ll survive.”

“Are you sure?”

Tifa laughed, “Zack, I appreciate the gesture but seriously put them on. I’m not a little glass princess that’s going to break. I’ve lived through a lot.”

Zack pulled the goggles on and struck a pose, “How do I look?”

Tifa laughed again and placed her hands over her heart, “Oh Zack, I can barely contain myself. You are just so amazingly handsome.”

“Why thank you Miss Lockhart. But you must restrain yourself, we really must be going.”

Tifa just shook her head and stepped out into through the damaged door with Zack trailing behind.

“Whoa!” Zack was stunned. He could have never imagined the stark desolation of the area. He looked around blinking rapidly, mouth hanging open.

Tifa just stood and watched him take it all in. They weren’t in a hurry and she knew Zack needed time to adjust. He had taken everything she had told him remarkably well so far. She wondered how he would react when he saw his first Second Gen infected, or Third Gen in the throes of the illness. She wondered whether there was anyway to prepare him. She could explain the symptoms of the types of infection of course but there was no real way to brace yourself.

Zack slowly let it all sink in. Hojo had taken so much from him and to be greeted with this wasteland when he was finally released was almost too much. He looked at Tifa who was watching him closely and calmed himself. There were survivors and Tifa was going to help him adjust to this new world. At least he wasn’t alone.

Tifa watched as Zack grounded himself, he took a deep breath and shook his arms and stretched his neck.

“Ok, lead on Tifa. As much as I know you love how good looking I am in these oh so fashionable scrubs, I’d really appreciate something a little more comfortable, maybe with some armour and a weapon.”

Tifa smiled at him. She was amazed at how quickly Zack bounced back and was even able to flirt and joke easily.

“I’ve already checked those two buildings,” she pointed to the two administrative buildings, “so I vote we go check out that building first.”

The building Tifa pointed to was a non-descript military building. It was a little larger than the first three buildings she had been in, however it was entirely possible there was an underground section to this building as well.

As the pair started to walk towards the building Tifa had indicated, Zack spoke up, “Are you looking for specific supplies?”

“General supplies really, but we really need medical supplies and food.”

“How will you transport them back? I mean this is a military station, so unless the supplies have already been found there could be a bulk amount of supplies.”

“I’m just the initial scavenger. We have a system at NR for scavenging. We have initial runners, who go out to an area. Usually solo or in pairs. We check out areas and take as much as we can carry back to the camp. Often places have already been cleared out so there’s not much to carry back. If we get lucky and find bulk supplies, we go back and assemble a scavenger team to collect and carry back supplies. It does mean that we risk our supplies being taken by another group but large groups are more likely to draw attention and get attacked, plus it saves on our already meagre supplies.” Tifa explained as they reached the door. This door also had card swipe access and Tifa again iced the door and kicked it open.

“I’m not sure I’ll ever get used to watching you do that Tifa,” Zack stated.

“The icing or the kicking?” Tifa replied.

Zack laughed, “The icing. I know you can kick butt Tifa and I’d never want to be on the wrong end of your fists or boots.”

“I dunno Zack. I could make it quite pleasurable you know.” Tifa smirked.

Zack’s jaw dropped slightly before he collected himself, “Oh you are good Tifa.”

The pair entered the dusty building. There was a waiting area with plastic crumbling seats with what appeared to be a caged service area.

“Jackpot!” exclaimed Tifa, “A requisition area. We might not find any medical supplies in this building but we should be able to find you a weapon and some clothes.”

Tifa and Zack were able to quickly gain access to the caged area and after making their way down a set of metal stairs they found themselves in a large underground storeroom. Being a military storeroom everything was easily accessible and in order on the numerous shelves. Zack was able to quickly find a pair of black military style pants and a black t-shirt along with a pair of socks and black steelcapped boots.

“Right, no peaking now Tifa,” Zack said sternly while trying to hold a serious expression on his face.

Tifa rolled her eyes at him, “Please, not like I haven’t seen it before.”

Zack chuckled as he ducked behind a set of shelves, while Tifa busied herself collecting a few extra sets of clothes, socks and an extra pair of boots for both of them. 

Zack quickly got changed, sighing in relief at being out of the uncomfortable scrubs and rejoined Tifa. She had managed to find two large Army issue backpacks and was putting the clothes she had collected so far into them. 

“Looks like there is armour and weapons further down this row,” Tifa passed Zack one of the backpacks, “Here. There’s a couple of spare sets of clothes and another pair of boots. We will be bringing a large scavenging group back here as this equipment will be very useful for Sanctuary, but you do need a couple of spares for yourself. Just be aware that all supplies are scarce now.”

Zack nodded as he walked down the aisle alongside Tifa. The storeroom was deceptively large and probably spanned half the military compound. About halfway down the aisle Zack noticed a bulk load of combat first aid kits and pointed them out to Tifa.

“This is turning out to be a great initial run. Hopefully we can find some mines or grenades and I’ll be able to booby trap the door to prevent anyone else stealing these supplies,” said Tifa as she placed a few kits into the backpacks.

Finally at the end of the aisle, along the back wall of the storeroom, Zack was able to find armour and other weapons. He pulled on a shoulder guard and strapped a large sword to his back. He and Tifa each attached a Bowie Knife to their thighs and concealed a butterfly knife to themselves. They then proceeded to search for some mines for Tifa’s booby trap. Zack opened a long metal case to find a set of Materia encased in foam. He ran his hand wistfully over the round orbs, feeling a sense of loss over the inability to use such an amazing weapon. As he did so, he was surprised to feel a familiar warmth radiating from each of them. This usually meant the Materia were active, but Tifa had said that Materia had ceased to work.

“Tifa?” Zack called out hesitantly.

“Yes,” Tifa was walking back towards him with a bundle of mines in her arms.

“This Materia is active.”

Tifa shot him a confused look and placed the mines and backpack down, crouching next to him. She ran her hands over the orbs in a similar fashion to what Zack had just done.

“I don’t feel anything Zack.”

Zack ran his hand back over the Materia and both of them noticed the small glow emanating from the orbs.

“Maybe, you should try using one?” Tifa suggested.

Zack pulled out a basic Ice Materia and equipped it to his sword. He cast a low level spell which succeeded in covering a locker with ice.

Tifa looked at him in disbelief.

“Wow Zack. As I said no one has been able to use Materia for a long time. We all assumed it was the Materia that had stopped working.”

“Maybe it’s the Virus,” Zack shrugged as he looked over the types of Materia in the box.

“Maybe…You should be careful using the Materia Zack. Especially the Cure ones. There are so many sick people nowadays, you would be inundated with requests for healing. You’d burn out quickly. Plus being the only Materia User on the planet, you’d be hunted down by all the Factions.”

Zack looked back at Tifa and nodded his head in agreement.

“I’ll still equip as many as I can though. They would be useful in some situations and if anyone asks why I have them equipped I’ll just blame old habits.”

Tifa nodded and Zack equipped all the slots on his sword and armour adding an armlet for the few remaining Materia in the box.

The pair made their way back to the caged area and Tifa set a few mines around the area. Back out in the mid morning sun, Zack turned to Tifa expectantly.

“Where to now?”

Tifa thought for a moment, “I don’t think it’s worth checking out the other buildings right now. When we come back with the bigger group we can do it then. There are plenty of supplies in that one storeroom to justify the return trip. So we head back to Sanctuary.”

“Lead on then, ma’am!”

Tifa shook her head. 

“Idiot,” she muttered, smiling as she did so.


	7. Sanctuary

Tifa thought for a moment, “I don’t think it’s worth checking out the other buildings right now. When we come back with the bigger group we can do it then. There are plenty of supplies in that one storeroom to justify the return trip. So we head back to Sanctuary.”

“Lead on then, ma’am!”

Tifa shook her head. 

“Idiot,” she muttered, smiling as she did so.

Tifa and Zack travelled in silence for two hours. The purple sun was scorching to Zack and he was thankful for Tifa’s tinted goggles. Tifa stopped suddenly and Zack looked ahead to see what had caused the abrupt halt. He could make out an indistinct blob in the distance. It was distorted further due to the heat shimmering in the air.

“Is that Sanctuary?” Zack questioned.

“Yes,” Tifa turned to face Zack, “I need to prepare you for what you are going to see when we enter Sanctuary. There are going to be lots of Second and Third Gens.”

“Okay,” Zack said slowly, unsure of where Tifa was going with this train of thought. He’d been warned about the zombie like appearance of the Second Gens and he thought the Third Gen infection was fatal. He’d seen dead bodies before and he’d seen sick people before too.

Tifa worried her bottom lip with her teeth, “The Third Gens are at all different stages of the illness.”

Zack furrowed his brow, “Tifa, what exactly are the symptoms of the Virus?”

Tifa took a deep breath, “There are different stages for each strain of the Virus. The first three days after exposure are the same for all strains. Once you’ve actually acquired the virus, and this isn’t an instant exposure virus, you could be around Infected for a few hours and acquire it, or it can take months for you to be affected. We class the time you acquire the virus as the Exposure. Ok, so four hours after you have acquired the Virus, you develop Fever and Chills and a dry cough. One day after Exposure you become delirious, you get a dry hacking cough, you have a constant thirst that can’t be sated. You’ll also sweat profusely, this will stay with you for the whole time you are ill,” Tifa paused here for a moment before continuing.

“Two days after Exposure, you’ll experience full body tremors with the feeling of bugs crawling under your skin. You’ll scratch and scratch until you bleed trying to get rid of the feeling.  
Three days after Exposure, you go into the Rigors. For 24 hours, you’ll experience constant attacks where your arms and legs go rigid with a searing pain as the virus attacks the nerve endings.”

Tifa looked at Zack, “This is where the symptoms change for each strain. At the five day mark, First Gens will start to show their Elemental powers. The symptoms depend on the Elemental. As an Ice First Gen, I experienced constant shivering and shaking and was freezing cold to touch. It was like ice was running through my veins and it was quite painful at times. Fire First Gens will of course feel the opposite. Air First Gens cough constantly expelling white smoke and so forth.

On the six day, you fall into the Like Death stage. You’ll sleep for 24 hours, your heart rate slows down dramatically and your breathing becomes extremely shallow. You will appear to be dead, hence the nickname. Upon waking you’ll be a full First Gen.”

Zack’s eyes were wide open behind the tinted goggles and he blinked slowly, “That was just the First Gen strain, what about the other two.”

“For Second Gens, on the fourth day, their skin starts to blister and bubble, this starts on their arms and legs and moves across the torso to the face. It takes only three days for the whole body to be blistering and bubbling and they are in massive amounts of pain. You’ll hear screaming and whimpers constantly. No amount of painkillers can lessen the pain. At the end of the 7th day the blisters pop and the new pink skin underneath starts to slough off in patches. The distinctive pulsing purple tendril around their forearms starts to appear. It starts out thin, like a pencil mark but quickly turns into the sickly looking mark. 

By the 14th day, most of their skin has gone. The raw skin will harden and feels like leather. By the 21st day the cycle is complete.”

Zack staggered slightly, reeling from the images assaulting his mind.

“The Third Gens have the worst symptoms though.”

Zack looked at Tifa in disbelief, “How can they be worst than that?”

“Trust me, they can and they are. I should have told you earlier, but I didn’t know how to prepare you. Nothing I say is going to prepare you for the shock of seeing these victims. You are lucky I was the one that found you, at least I still look relatively normal.”

Zack swallowed hard and steeled himself and put his hands on the young woman’s shoulders. She stiffened for a moment and relaxed. He looked her in the eye, “It’s alright Tifa. I need to know, so that I’m at least a little prepared. I can’t imagine what it was like for you to see all this first hand without any preparation. Hell you’ve even experienced the First Gen symptoms. I’m shocked, yes. But I also am not a glass princess going to break and shatter.” 

He gave Tifa a crooked grin.

“I’m amazed at how well you are able to roll with the punches Zack and even make jokes. You might not be made of glass, but you are a princess,” Tifa chuckled and took another deep breath.

“Okay then, the Third Gen symptoms. The virus is fatal, and once exposed, the victim dies in 7 days. On the fourth day, after the Rigors, comes the Noir stage. The victim will constantly struggle for breath due to their lungs filling with a heavy black tar like liquid. They will cough up copious amounts of this tar but will never be able to clear their lungs.

The fifth day brings the Cruor. Blood starts to leak from the tear ducts, they are still coughing as the Noir stage does not disappear. By the sixth day, the blood in the body starts to coagulate, the blood leaking from the tear ducts is coagulated and black in colour and the Rigors return. The victim will fall in and out of consciousness, in constant pain before succumbing to the illness and dying on the 7th day.”

Tifa’s voice remained steady but devoid of emotion as she described the terrible symptoms of the Third Gen strain of the virus. Zack was speechless, his stomach started to churn and he was squeezing Tifa’s shoulders unconsciously. Tifa inwardly winced, knowing she’d probably have bruises from his fingers but wasn’t going to complain. She’d had worse injuries and she knew he wasn’t doing it on purpose. 

Tifa brought her left hand up to cover Zack’s hand on her right shoulder and squeezed it slightly, hoping to bring him some semblance of comfort. This motion brought Zack out of his stupor and his eyes refocused.

“Will I get sick?” he asked in a quiet voice.

“I don’t know Zack. We are pretty sure the Virus is still active. We just aren’t sure how it’s transmitted; everyone gets sick at different rates. There are still some people who haven’t been affected by the virus at all. But their numbers are dwindling. Many of those unaffected so far have been children, but there haven’t been any reported births in nearly three months.”

Tifa fell silent for a moment, “If you do get sick though Zack, I’ll stay with you through the virus. I may even give you a scrub bath.” 

She winked at him with her last comment, attempting to lighten the mood, knowing that Zack’s emotional defence was to make a joke. It was successful and Zack found himself grinning despite himself.

“Only if you join me Tifa.”

She grinned at him, “Let’s get going, we really shouldn’t stay out in the open.”

The pair turned and started walking towards the blurred blob in the distance. It gradually grew clearer and more distinct until Zack was able to see the massive structure.

It was made from bits of junk and scrap metal, he guessed it could be loosely called a fortress. Due to the structure being made from whatever was available there was no uniformity to the high reaching walls. Bits of twisted metal and broken concrete stuck out haphazardly in random intervals. Zack estimated the walls to be around twenty meters high. Tifa waved and he realised that there were two watch towers situated at what he assumed to be the front gate. The gate itself was probably the only smooth part of the whole structure but was really only small enough to allow a small truck through. It was made out of metal and was only a third to half the height of the walls. As they got closer, Zack heard a grinding metallic shriek and the gate slid slowly to their right and stopped allowing enough space for the pair to slip through before closing again just as slowly.

Zack looked around at what used to be Rocket Town, there were a few buildings still standing but he could tell they had been patched up. All the buildings were lowset dwellings. There were many tents scattered around the large area. He was able to just glimpse the opposing wall. From what he could see, Sanctuary was neither rectangular nor circular in shape but was an unidentifiable, many sided area. He figured they had to work with the lay of the land as well as with whatever materials they had available at the time.

“Tifa!” a gruff voice called out and Zack snapped his head in the direction it came from.

Walking up the dusty path was an older man with white blonde hair and blue eyes. He had blonde facial stubble and wore a pair of flight goggles on the top of his head. He wore a pair of blue pants with a black threadbare t-shirt similar to Zack’s own. 

The man wore a wide grin as he clapped Tifa on the back, “Wasn’t expecting you back so soon. Was it a bad location?”

Tifa grinned back at him, “It was a great location actually. Let’s head in and I’ll debrief you all.”

Zack shifted feeling awkward and Tifa looked over at him, seeming to remember she wasn’t alone.

“Cid, this is Zack Fair. Zack, this is Cid Highwind.”

Zack and Cid shook hands firmly, muttering pleasantries.

Cid raised a questioning eyebrow at Tifa and she shook her head, “Inside Cid. We have lots to talk about.”

“Right then. Let’s go.”

The trio walked down a dusty path, past the numerous tents towards a pair of buildings in the centre of Sanctuary. Zack noticed a few people milling around outside tents, mostly staying in the shadows due to the oppressive heat of the day. He could hear whimpers and screams coming from different tents and gave an involuntary shudder. He put his head down and walked slightly faster to ensure Tifa and Cid didn’t leave him behind. Both Cid and Tifa were stealing quick glances at Zack but he didn’t notice, too intent on blocking out the screams.

Due to the compound being fairly small, they reached the building quickly. Cid opened the door and held it for both Tifa and Zack. Zack removed his tinted goggles, blinking at the slight difference in lighting. Inside was a small dining room table with six chairs around it. On the table a strange cat creature was twitching erratically while lying prone.

“How are you going Reeve?” Tifa questioned.

“I’m alright Tifa. You got back quickly,” came a gravelly sounding voice from behind the cat.

Zack looked at him and started slightly. Tifa’s warnings only prepared him slightly for the vision in front of him. The man looked as though as though he had been flayed and dried in the sun. Zack could see sinewy muscle and patches of skin where clothing did not cover. Instead of the expected red colour he expected, the muscles were a tan brown colour, the small patches of skin still attached were a horrid grey colour. As the man lifted a screwdriver to adjust something on the cat Zack caught a glimpse of the purple tendril on his forearm. Zack’s eyes travelled up to the man’s face, it was mostly covered in the grey patches of skin but looked incredibly dry and flaky. His eyes were a milky purple colour and Zack could see the man used to have raven hair due to the small patches still attached.

“I got lucky,” Tifa’s voice brought Zack out of his stupor, “Reeve, this is Zack Fair. Zack, Reeve Tuesti.”

Reeve lifted his hand in greeting and Zack responded in the same fashion.

“Now tha’ introductions are over. Debrief time Tifa,” Cid said from behind.

Tifa nodded and motioned for Zack to drop his pack and take a seat. Cid pulled four bottles of water from a cupboard and passed them to Tifa. She flicked her hands and ran them over the bottles, instantly chilling them. Once the quartet were settled with a bottle of cold water Tifa started her debrief.

“We need to send out a big group this time guys. There is an entire military requisition storage area with weapons, clothing and combat first aid kits. I only checked out a few buildings so there might still be a hospital but it definitely warrants a scavenge group.”

Cid and Reeve nodded.

“We set up some mines so all the stock should still be there for the group. Only ran into three Zolokalters and a Guard Hound too.”

“Unusual for there to be so little Mutagen activity,” stated Cid.

Tifa shrugged, “Maybe it’s coz there were no people. No people, no food.”

Cid grunted in agreement.

“So what’s the story with this one then?” Cid pointed to Zack.

Zack raised an eyebrow and Tifa smiled.

“Well,” Tifa started looking towards Zack with a questioning look. Zack nodded slightly realising she was asking his permission to tell his story.

“Zack and I met originally in Nibelheim. He was with the group investigating the reactors. He was the one that helped Cloud escape before he met up with AVALANCHE.”

Recognition spread across Reeve’s and Cid’s faces. 

“But didn’t Cloud say that Zack died?” asked Reeve.

Zack answered, “I was injured pretty bad, but Hojo managed to heal me. He’s kept me in an underground lab since then.”

Cid shook his head, “Damn Hojo. Ruined so many lives.”

“That means you’ve been down there for about 5 years,” Reeve interjected.

Zack nodded slowly, “Yeah, I’ve got a bit of catching up to do.”

“Least the bastard’s dead now. Although knowing what he did, death is too good for him,” growled Cid.

Zack looked at Cid curiously.

“Another member of our team, Vincent, was also a victim of Hojo’s experimenting,” Tifa explained.

“Oh,” said Zack.

The group fell into silence, each lost in their own thoughts about Hojo and ShinRa.

Reeve was the first to break the silence, “I guess Tifa has told you some information about what’s been happening then.”

“As much as I can,” Tifa said, “There’s a lot of information to go over.”

Zack nodded in agreement.

“If you have any questions, you can ask any of us. We’d all be willing to give you answers or direct you to the person amongst us that would know,” Reeve offered.

“Thank you,” Zack said quietly.

“Anything new I need to know about?” asked Tifa, changing the subject.

Cid and Reeve exchanged glances.

“Anonymous Tactics have been pretty quiet. But there was a Remnant attack south of Midgar. We haven’t been able to get in contact with Nanaki’s group since just after you left for the run,” Reeve said quietly, “We are hoping that they were able to make it to the bolthole and are just biding their time before returning to Sanctuary but we just don’t know.”

Tifa sighed and placed her fingers on her temples rubbing them irritably, “Was there a message this time?”

Cid shrugged, “We don’t know. I’d assume so. From the scarce reports we’ve gotten from some refugees, it seems like it was Strife and Kadaj working together.”

“A message?” questioned Zack.

Cid looked at Tifa and then at Zack, “The Remnants have been trying to bait us. They’ve been leaving messages at their raids trying to start a war. A war that we could never win. We don’t have the man power or supplies to defeat them and they know it. Their raids lately have been specifically targeting our satellite bases.”

“Dammit,” Tifa swore, ‘They are playing with us! They know we can’t beat them. Not like this.”

The group fell into silence again, this time it was interrupted by a knock on the door.

“Come in,” Cid called out.

A Second Gen infected man stepped in, “There is a messenger at the gate. They will only pass their message onto the three of you.”

Cid raised an eyebrow in surprise and shared a look with Tifa and Reeve.

“Thanks Josh. Let’s go see what this messenger has to say then,” Cid stood followed by Tifa and Reeve.

Zack looked at the three of them.

“Come on Zack. You’re one of us now,” Tifa said, Reeve and Cid nodded in agreement.

“Only if you want to join us that is,” said Reeve.

“Tifa saved my life. I’m not going anywhere,” Zack stated firmly.

“Welcome to Neutral Resistance or NR then,” Cid said.

The quartet followed Josh out the door, closing it behind them.


	8. The Visitor

“Come on Zack. You’re one of us now,” Tifa said, Reeve and Cid nodded in agreement.

“Only if you want to join us that is,” said Reeve.

“Tifa saved my life. I’m not going anywhere,” Zack stated firmly.

“Welcome to Neutral Resistance or NR then,” Cid said.

The quartet followed Josh out the door, closing it behind them. 

Outside again, Zack could still hear the screams and murmurings of the numerous people staying in Sanctuary. The quartet were able to comfortably walk side by side with Zack being flanked by Tifa and Cid with Reeve on the other side of Tifa.

The four were quiet as they were lost in their own thoughts. Tifa, Cid and Reeve were wondering about the unknown messenger, while Zack was simply reviewing all the information he had come across since being awoken in the tube. He stole a quick glance at Tifa, thinking how grateful he was towards her. 

They reached the entrance gate in a short amount of time and spotted the messenger, surrounded by the Sanctuary’s guards. The messenger was covered by a full length, shapeless brown cloak which prevented the identification of whether the messenger was male or female. Their head was down and the cloak’s veil caused shadows further obscuring the messenger’s identity.

“It’s alright guys, we’ve got ‘em from here,” stated Cid nodding at the guards. The guards quickly resumed their usual patrols and lookout positions.

“I’m assuming you’d like to speak in private then?” asked Cid.

The messenger nodded, carefully keeping their head down.

“Just know that if you start any trouble, you’ve got two First Gens, a strong Second Gen and an Uninfected ex-SOLDIER ready to beat you down,” Cid growled.

The messenger started slightly at the mention of Zack but nodded again silently.

Cid and Reeve silently took point position with Tifa and Zack bringing up the rear, keeping the unknown in the centre. The walk back to the Headquarters building was silent and quick. 

Once inside Tifa guided the messenger to a seat and quickly pulled off the cowl hiding their face.  
“We don’t speak to anyone without seeing their face,” Tifa stated.

Cid and Reeve, who were standing in front of the messenger wore looks of shock on their face. Tifa quickly made her way around to face the person.

“Elena?” she asked incredulously.

“Hello,” Elena croaked out, waving weakly.

Elena was unfortunately a Second Gen infected, with her once flawless skin, grey and patchy. Due to the long cloak they couldn’t see the purple tendril but it wasn’t necessary to identify the illness. Her once immaculate blonde hair was patchy and thin.

“I bring a message from Anonymous Tactics. More specifically from ex-President Rufus ShinRa,” Elena stated in the gravelly voice all Second Gen infected acquired.

Cid, Reeve and Tifa exchanged glances while Zack remained silent in the corner.

“How did you both survive? Midgar was completely destroyed,” asked Reeve, “I only got out because I had left the city when AVALANCHE entered the Northern Crater.”

Elena looked down at the table, “We were monitoring your messages with AVALANCHE. Tseng, Reno, Rude, Rufus and I all left around the same time as you, through the emergency tunnels.”

Elena’s casual way of addressing Rufus did not go unnoticed.

“Rufus?” questioned Reeve.

Elena looked up, “After Triad Judgement, we travelled together a lot. ShinRa had fallen of course and Rufus became more relaxed. Well as relaxed as people can be with the virus and the end of the world of course. Especially after we all got sick. Rude got sick first, then me, then Tseng and Reno at the same time. Rufus was the last of us to get sick. We all took care of each other.”

“So, what is the message that you would only give to us?” Tifa brought the conversation back to the issue at hand.

“Oh,” Elena seemed to remember herself, “Rufus wants to meet with you face to face to discuss an alliance of sorts.”

“An alliance?” asked Cid, “NR accepts any refugees regardless. We don’t require alliances.”

“No, an alliance with Anonymous Tactics,” replied Elena.

“You meant to say, you are Anonymous Tactics? You know NR doesn’t condone violence nor participate in territorial disputes,” said Reeve.

“Just meet with Rufus. Hear him out. Things are happening and we all need to stick together. The Remnants are planning something big,” pleaded Elena.

Tifa, Reeve and Cid exchanged glances. The Remnants were the foes of everyone and it sounded like Anonymous Tactics had information on the situation as it stood.

“We don’t promise anything. But we will meet with Rufus and hear him out,” Tifa eventually said, “We meet on our terms though. We are not going to your territory, nor are you all coming here. There are too many innocents.”

“Where do you wish to meet and when? I’ll take the information back,” said Elena, clearly gaining more confidence with the positive answer.

“Stockade Bolthole,” Cid stated, “I’ll mark it on a map for you. Tomorrow at sundown.”

Elena nodded. Cid pulled out a piece of paper and drew a quick mud map clearly marking the Stockade Bolthole.

“The password is Survival. You don’t say the password, you don’t get let in,” Cid said with a steely voice.

“Survival. Got it,” Elena chirped.

“Come on. Reeve and I will escort you to the gate,” Cid handed the map over to Elena, who placed it in a pocket of her cloak.

Tifa pulled out a bottle of water and chilled it, “Here,” she handed the bottle to Elena.

“Thank you,” Elena said quietly before quickly moving out of the building flanked by Reeve and Cid.

Once the trio had left the building, Tifa sighed and sat down in a chair at the table. Zack made his way over from his corner and sat next to her.

“I’m guessing Anonymous Tactics is another Faction?” Zack asked.

Tifa lifted her gaze to look at Zack tiredly, “Yeah. We didn’t know all that much about them really. Aside from seeing their colours being flown when they overtook a new territory. We haven’t had any defector refugees come from their territories so we don’t know whether they are violent or tricky or what. I guess now we know they are run by ex-Turks and ShinRa though.”

Zack hummed his agreement and scratched the back of his head. The pair were silent for a moment before the door reopened to let in Cid and Reeve. 

“What do you think?” asked Reeve as he sat down.

Cid remained standing and pulled out a worn pack of cigarettes, quickly lighting one with a match. He inhaled deeply and breathed out a cloud of smoke.

“Could be a trap,” he stated.

“Or they could really have information on the Remnants. Elena did take a risk to come out here and pass the message on,” pointed out Tifa.

“They could be in cahoots with the Remnants and wanting to draw us out,” replied Cid.

“So do we turn up to the Bolthole?” asked Zack.

Cid sighed and stubbed out his cigarette, “Yeah we go. But we go prepared to fight.”

“So we go early then and set up?” queried Reeve.

“Yep,” confirmed Cid, “Tifa, show Zack where he’s sleeping and then we will pack the kits up ready for the morning.”

Tifa nodded and turned to Zack, “Come on Zack. You’re bunking with me.”

Zack processed that thought slowly, “Say what now?”

Tifa smiled, “Beds are a scarce commodity. There’s a spare bed in the tent I sleep in.”

“Oh,” replied Zack, then he furrowed his brow, “Why is it…”

Tifa cut him off, “I used to bunk with Yuffie, but she contracted the Third Gen infection on a trip to Wutai to visit her father.”

“I’m sorry,” Zack said automatically, silently kicking himself.

“Unfortunately Zack, since Triad Judgement, we’ve all lost friends and family and we will loose more before it’s all over,” Tifa shrugged as she stood up.

“The four of us stay at the back of this building in a two room tent. Inside this building is the meeting room we were just in. It’s also where Reeve works on Cait Sith, his robot and other gadgets. There’s also two storage rooms for clothing and the armoury. In the other building is the clinic and food storage. Rations are handed out at the mess tent set up just to the west of that building, it’s the big grey tent. They do three meals a day, Esther and her crew are able to come up with some amazing meals for what they have to work with.”

Zack nodded slowly, committing the layout and information Tifa was giving him to memory. 

“Let’s get some food and get to sleep. Tomorrow will be a long day again,” said Tifa.


End file.
